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Infinera Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Is this meaningful? Or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Infinera(Nasdaq: INFN) fell as much as 19% in early trading today after reporting fourth-quarter results that met revised guidance but missed consensus revenue estimates.

So what:In October, management said fewer orders from Level 3 Communications(Nasdaq: LVLT) would impact revenue and earnings. Even so, analysts were expecting Infinera to book $117.6 million in sales of optical gear. It took in $117.1 million instead, producing $0.07 in per-share earnings.

Now what: The sell-off has become silly. But to be fair, some of the drop could be due to general market panic over an uprising in Egypt that's forced President Hosni Mubarak to order a military crackdown. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down almost 2.45% as I write this.

But that should be a short-term problem. Over the long them, the needs of the Internet and Internet service providers haven't changed. Infinera's optical gear remains essential for modernizing the Internet.

Author

Tim Beyers first began writing for the Fool in 2003. Today, he's an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova. At Fool.com, he covers disruptive ideas in technology and entertainment, though you'll most often find him writing and talking about the business of comics. Find him online at timbeyers.me or send email to tbeyers@fool.com. For more insights, follow Tim on Google+ and Twitter.